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Beer For Brohood: A Laboratory Simulation Of Masculinity Confirmation Through Alcohol Use Behaviors In Men, Jessica Lauren Fugitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol use is a widespread behavior that may be associated with negative consequences, especially for men. Research suggests that individuals are motivated to maintain in-group status by engaging in behaviors prototypical of the in-group when group status has been challenged, and that men are particularly likely to do this when masculine in-group status is threatened. This study investigated masculine drinking behaviors through Social and individual lenses, examining the impact of group identification and individual differences on alcohol consumption rates after a simulated gender threatening situation in a bar laboratory. Sixty-five male students (ages 21-29; 74% Caucasian) were given the chance …

Investigation Of Cnt-Induced Escherichia Coli Lysis And Protein Release, Abdollah Mosleh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a treatment to increase the permeability of a bacterial cell wall. Recombinant Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) containing a plasmid that expressed Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and -lactamase were exposed to CNTs under various levels of agitation for different times. Fluorescence assay for GFP, optical absorbance for -lactamase activity, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were used to determine the amount of released protein, and visually examine the permeability enhancement of the cells, respectively. It was found that more -lactamase was present in the culture fluid after treatment with CNTs in a …

Determination Of Optimum Fall And Spring Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate For Maximizing Grain Yield Of Soft Red Winter Wheat Sown At Variable Planting Dates, Lucas Vasconcelos Vieira

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An optimum planting date is important for winter wheat nitrogen (N) management as it dramatically changes the growing environment including temperature and moisture, ultimately affecting fertilizer efficiency and grain yield (GY). In Arkansas, high precipitation in the fall often forces farmers to delay planting and current Arkansas recommendations include the application of fall N when soft red winter wheat (SRWW) is sown later than optimum, despite the lack of data supporting this practice. This study evaluated the effect of rate and timing of N application on GY of SRWW sown at variable planting dates in Arkansas. Granular urea was split …

The Juvenile Addiction Risk Rating For Use In Vocational Rehabilitation, Paul Tyler Hickerson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of substance use among adolescents warrants considerable concern since it often has detrimental effects on an individual’s physical and mental health, and correlates with worsened Social, physical, and employment outcomes. Research shows that adolescents with disabilities are especially susceptible to the development of substance use disorders. To address this concern and to ensure accurate rehabilitation service planning, effective screening for substance use risk is necessary. Unfortunately, the most common screening instruments for adolescent substance use rely on information obtained solely from self-report. This type of data, although useful, is also susceptible to inaccuracies due to such factors as …

Phenotypic And Gene Expression Analysis Of Diverse Rice Genotypes In Response To Drought, Miranti Rahmaningsih

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drought is one of the most limiting factors for rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth and development with vegetative and reproductive stages the most sensitive and distinct phases. During the vegetative stage, drought can cause reduction in growth and biomass accumulation. Moreover, water stress at reproductive stage can reduce yield significantly. Plants are protected against drought by three different mechanisms: drought avoidance, drought tolerance, and drought escape. An integrated approach combining physiology, breeding, and genomics could be an effective way to characterize and mitigate this problem. The objectives of this research were to (1) screen a diverse set of rice genotypes …

Studies In The Asymmetric Synthesis Of The C21-C34 Fragment Of The Natural Product, Antascomicin B, Brian Lee Walker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes studies in the asymmetric synthesis of the C21 – C34 fragment of the natural product, antascomicin B. Antascomicin B is structurally related to FK506, binds strongly to FKBP12, yet does not shown immunosuppressive activity. Small ligand FKBP12 binding complexes were shown to have potent neuroprotective and neuroregenerative properties in mouse models of Parkinson’s disease. The highlighted chemical reactions include an asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH), Ireland-Claisen rearrangement (ICR), directed hydrogenation and allylic diazene rearrangement.

Associations Of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms In The Bovine Prolactin, Melatonin Receptor 1a, And Dopamine Receptor D2 Genes With Hair Coat Shedding Scores And Productivity Traits In Beef Cattle, Laura R. Meyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Calving rate is a qualitative trait regulated by several genes and is strongly affected by the environment. With the development of biotechnology and gene identification, scientists are able to determine which genes affect these productivity traits to improve accurate selection decisions. Prolactin (PRL) has been associated with reproductive traits, melatonin receptor 1a (MTNR1A) has been associated with meat quality traits, and the dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) gene has been associated with hair coat score (HCS) in cattle. Our objective was to determine associations between mutations in the PRL, MTNR1A, and DRD2 genes and cow-calf profitability traits. Genomic DNA was extracted …

Breast Is Best: A Case Study Of Bottom-Up Implementation, Britni Ayers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The institutional narrative surrounding breastfeeding is that breast is best. Research on infant feeding practices in the United States are abundant, especially among WIC recipients. Although WIC is championed as being a breastfeeding promotional venue, WIC recipients demonstrate lower breastfeeding rates than non-WIC recipients of similar economic standing suggesting the need for further research into the policies and breastfeeding promotional tools being implemented within WIC. Concurrently, research demonstrates that breastfeeding duration rates among WIC recipients can be prolonged with women’s interaction with a Breastfeeding Peer Counselors (BFPC). However, there has been little exploration into the experiences of BFPC or the …

Cross Validation Of The Caregiving Helplessness Questionnaire: Associations With Maternal History Of Maltreatment And Intimate Partner Violence, Maegan Calvert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disorganized caregiving has been associated with both maternal childhood history and current experiences of trauma. However, the methods by which disorganized caregiving has been studied have been time intensive and costly. The current study aimed to extend previous research with the Caregiving Helplessness Questionnaire (CHQ; George & Solomon, 2011), which is a self-report measure designed to assess aspects of disorganized caregiving such as caregiving helplessness, role reversal, and frightened/frightening caregiving experiences. Participants (N = 156) were a community sample of mothers of children ages 5 to 10 who were primarily white and who reported a range of traumatic experiences. It …

Verbing History: A Textualist Approach To Gendered Politics In U.S. History Curriculum, Ginney Patricia Norton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using three curricular interventions from World War II, I employ an alternative rhetorical history to understand how Social studies curriculum has become a space for the simultaneous deliberation of both national identity and gender politics. In working through the propaganda of Rosie the Riveter, the stories of the women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the experiences of gay men and women in the military during the war, I suggest that Social studies curriculum normalizes and reifies gendered, racial, and queer citizenship in relationship to white, masculine, and heteronormative citizenship. It also utilizes epideictic rhetoric to rhetorically and historically construct problematic …

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High Throughput Phenotypic Evaluation Of Drought-Related Traits In Soybean, Hua Bai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drought limits crop growth and yield in soybean. Rapid and effective methods of screening large numbers of soybean lines for drought tolerance are urgently needed. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of drought in soybean during reproductive stages. In the first experiment five genotypes from maturity groups 2 through 5 were tested under well-irrigated and drought conditions. Beginning at R5, leaf samples were taken for nitrogen concentration analysis. Pictures were taken across the top of each plot to determine the intensity of greenness using the Dark Green Color Index (DGCI). Aerial photographs were also taken to determine aerial …

Age End-Point Effects On Performance, Carcass Measurements, And Tenderness In Goats, Kelsey Lynn Basinger

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Goat meat is consumed all across the world, especially in developing countries. Moreover, the meat goat industry is growing in popularity in the United States due to ethnic demand of an increasing immigrant population. The objective of this study was to measure age end-point effects on performance, carcass measurements, and tenderness in goats. Intact Kiko × Boer F1 male (n = 46) kids were born on pasture in the spring of 2014 and 2015, weaned at approximately 100 d of age, and weighed monthly. Creep feed was offered to kids from birth to weaning and a high concentrate diet was …

An Inquiry Into The Distinction Between Belief And Imagination, Maxwell M. Gatyas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Theories of mind typically see belief and imagination as distinct cognitive attitudes. While most admit that imagination is belief-like in many ways—e.g. in its capacity to guide action, cause emotional responses, and aid in decision-making processes—the popular view is to separate the two attitudes when constructing a theory of mental architecture. The similarities are not enough for theorists to admit that the two attitudes are indistinct. Imagination, then, is construed as an “analogue” of belief, similar in many ways, but nevertheless fundamentally different. In what follows I examine these methods of distinguishing between belief and imagination. My method of examination …

Chlorine Demand Shows Thresholds And Hierarchy With Source Water Quality At Beaver Lake, Arkansas, Jaime M. Gile

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of source water quality in Beaver Lake on the amount of chlorine (Cl) needed to develop decision support system to help guide chlorination practices in pre-treatment of source water. Chlorine demand assays were performed on water samples from Beaver Lake collected from the intake structure at Beaver Water District from March 2014 through August 2015, and using data from these assays, the two points of interest in this study were the Cl dose at which Cl residuals began to accumulate and the mean Cl demand occurring after that dose. Three methods of analysis were used …

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A Tribute To Thomas M. Church: Exploring Chemical Oceanography In The Coastal Zone-The History And Future, Gregory A. Cutter, David J. Burdige

OES Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) One can find different historical perspectives on the development of studying the chemistry of oceans as well as names for this study—marine chemistry, chemistry of the sea, marine aquatic chemistry, marine biogeochemistry, or chemical oceanography. It could be argued that chemical oceanography is the most inclusive for an earth science since oceanography itself is an integrated discipline that links the biology, chemistry, geology, and physics together. Regardless of the name, perhaps the first intensive, modern/post-nineteenth century study of the ocean’s chemistry was the GEOSECS Program from ca. 1970–1978. The significance of GEOSECS was that it examined the chemistry …

Carbon Nanotube Arrays For Intracellular Delivery And Biological Applications, Masoud Golshadi

Theses

Introducing nucleic acids into mammalian cells is a crucial step to elucidate biochemical pathways, modify gene expression in immortalized cells, primary cells, and stem cells, and intoduces new approaches for clinical diagnostics and therapeutics. Current gene transfer technologies, including lipofection, electroporation, and viral delivery, have enabled break-through advances in basic and translational science to enable derivation and programming of embryonic stem cells, advanced gene editing using CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), and development of targeted anti-tumor therapy using chimeric antigen receptors in T-cells (CAR-T). Despite these successes, current transfection technologies are time consuming and limited by the inefficient …

Changes In The Eeg Amplitude As A Biomarker For Early Detection Of Alzheimer's Disease, Ali H. Al-Nuaimi, Emmanuel Jammeh, Lingfen Sun, Emmanuel Ifeachor

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The rapid increase in the number of older people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other forms of dementia represents one of the major challenges to the health and social care systems. Early detection of AD makes it possible for patients to access appropriate services and to benefit from new treatments and therapies, as and when they become available. The onset of AD starts many years before the clinical symptoms become clear. A biomarker that can measure the brain changes in this period would be useful for early diagnosis of AD. Potentially, the electroencephalogram (EEG) can play a valuable role in …

Deanotes, College Of Science And Technology, Armstrong State University

College of Science & Technology Dean's Notes (Archived)

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Proposed Treatment Of Problematic Pornography Use: A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach, Jennifer Minarcik

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As pornography use increases across the general population, mental health professionals are encountering more patients who present symptoms of sexual addictions and sexual compulsivity (Cooper et al., 2001). Never before have pornographic materials been so accessible to consumers. Viewing pornography is related to many negative consequences for the individual, including impairment of academic and professional functioning, subjective distress, and sexual compulsivity (Cooper et al., 1999a; Manning, 2006). Studies found pornography use by an individual typically leads to a decline in relationship and sexual satisfaction (Bridges, 2008a). Despite the growth in research related to problematic pornography use, to date there have …

Heparin-Peptide Interactions, Jacqueline Anastasia Morris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Heparin is a polydispersed sulfated molecule that is part of the family called glycosaminoglycans found in the extracellular matrix and cell surfaces. This molecule is extremely important for the activation of proteins and protein-receptor interactions that are responsible for downstream cell signaling pathways. Heparin has been isolated from porcine intestine and used as an anticoagulant for the prevention of embolisms, heart thrombosis, and clotting during heart surgeries. This so-called miracle drug was in use until 2008, when isolated batches were found to be contaminated with other glycosaminoglycans similar to heparin. From 2008, there has been a dire need for a …

Extending The Network: The Influence Of Offline Friendship On Twitter Network, Young Soo Kim, Kyungsub Stephen Choi, Felicia Natali

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Twitter effectively provides a communication platform that allows users to strengthen or augment relationships with their close ones. It is a common scene to see groups of people in continuing group communication from offline to online using tools such as Twitter. Furthermore, it is also possible to meet new friends via online encounter. Under these circumstances, there would be friends who are both offline and online, or only in online. Many of earlier Twitter network studies focused on the network effects’ direction going from online to offline network. This paper explores the opposite direction, going from offline to online network. …

Effect Of High-Dose Simvastatin On Cerebral Blood Flow And Static Autoregulation In Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Michael N. Diringer, Rajat Dhar, Michael Scalfani, Allyson R. Zazulia, Michael Chicoine, William J. Powers, Colin P. Derdeyn

Student Publications

Background: Statins may promote vasodilation following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and improve the response to blood pressure elevation. We sought to determine whether simvastatin increases cerebral blood flow (CBF) and alters the response to induced hypertension after SAH.

Methods: Statin-naïve patients admitted <72 h after WFNS ≥2 aneurysmal SAH were randomly assigned to 80 mg simvastatin/day or placebo for 21 days. Regional CBF was measured with quantitative (15)O PET on SAH day 7-10 before and after raising mean arterial pressure (MAP) 20-25 %. Autoregulatory index (AI) was calculated as the ratio of % change in resistance (MAP/CBF) to % change in MAP. Angiography was performed within 24 h of PET. Results are presented as simvastatin vs. placebo.

Results: Thirteen patients received simvastatin and 12 placebo. Clinical characteristics were similar. Moderate or severe angiographic vasospasm occurred in 42 vs. 45 % and delayed cerebral ischemia in 14 vs. 55 % (p = 0.074). During PET studies, MAP (110 ± 10 vs. 111 ± 12), global CBF (41 ± 12 vs. 43 ± 13), and CVR (2.95 ± …

Preterm Birth And Air Pollution: Critical Windows Of Exposure For Women With Asthma, Pauline Mendola, Maeve Wallace, Beom Seuk Hwang, Danping Liu, Candace Robledo, Tuija Männistö

School of Medicine Publications

Background: Ambient air pollutants may increase preterm birth (PTB) risk, but critical exposure windows are uncertain. The interaction of asthma and pollutant exposure is rarely studied.

Objective: We sought to assess the interaction of maternal asthma and air pollutant exposures in relation to PTB risk.

Methods: Electronic medical records for 223,502 US deliveries were linked with modified Community Multiscale Air Quality model outputs. Logistic regression with generalized estimating equations estimated the odds ratio and 95% CIs for PTB on the basis of the interaction of maternal asthma and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 microns and particulate …

Validating Low Dissolved Oxygen Measurements To Improve Process Performance And Control, Hailey Bradshaw

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Conventional operation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is to maintain a dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration at or above 2.0 mg/L in the aeration process for biological nutrient removal (BNR). However, the adoption of operating at low DO in WWTP aeration systems has led to the improvement of process efficiency and reduced aeration energy requirements, making the transition to low DO favorable. Furthermore, as systems transition to oxygen-limiting conditions, the accuracy in DO measurements becomes increasingly important. Many plants use DO sensors to regularly control aeration processes, but their precision and accuracy at (ultra) low DO concentrations are less established. If …

Robust Algorithms For Estimating Vehicle Movement From Motion Sensors Within Smartphones, Ilyas Ustun

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Building sustainable traffic control solutions for urban streets (e.g., eco-friendly signal control) and highways requires effective and reliable sensing capabilities for monitoring traffic flow conditions so that both the temporal and spatial extents of congestion are observed. This would enable optimal control strategies to be implemented for maximizing efficiency and for minimizing the environmental impacts of traffic. Various types of traffic detection systems, such as inductive loops, radar, and cameras have been used for these purposes. However, these systems are limited, both in scope and in time. Using GPS as an alternative method is not always viable because of problems …

Cordycepin Promotes Apoptosis By Modulating The Erk-Jnk Signaling Pathway Via Dusp5 In Renal Cancer Cells, Jung-Hoo Hwang, Jong Cheon Joo, Dae Joon Kim, Eunbi Jo, Hwa-Seung Yoo, Kyung-Bok Lee, Soo Jung Park, Ik-Soon Jang

School of Medicine Publications

Constitutive activation of extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK)-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling commonly occurs in tumors. The activation of ERK promotes cell proliferation, whereas that of JNK induces cell apoptosis. However, the apoptotic mechanism of ERK-JNK signaling in cancer is not well understood. Recently, we identified that apoptosis and activation of the JNK signaling pathway were induced after cordycepin treatment in human renal cancer, suggesting that JNK signaling might contribute to TK-10 cell apoptosis. We investigated the apoptotic effects of cordycepin by evaluating the activation of the ERK-JNK signaling pathway in renal cancer TK-10 cells. We found that cordycepin downregulated …